CORONAVIRUS
Steve Shulman, the owner of Leschi Market in Seattle, died Wednesday of COVID-19.
SEATTLE — The beloved owner of Seattle’s Leschi Market has died of coronavirus (COVID-19), according to the shop.Leschi Market announced Steve Shulman’s death Wednesday in a Facebook post.“We all mourn the passing of this generous man who has been a pillar of the Leschi Community and beyond for many years,” the market wrote.
Leschi Market has been around since the 1940s and moved to Leschi in 1948, according to the market’s website. Shulman’s father Leonard, mother Betty Lou and brother John bought the business from family in 1977, and Shulman came to work as a butcher at Leschi Market in the 1980s.Soon after John left the business in 1996, Shulman expanded the shop’s wine selection to what it is today.RELATED: List: Resources for Washington businesses and workers impacted by the coronavirus pandemicCondolences for Shulman’s family poured out on social media with customers sharing memories Shulman over the last 20 years.Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan called the loss of Shulman “heartbreaking” and tweeted that Shulman was “the heartbeat of Leschi.”The market says a memorial service will be held when it is “safe to gather.”Earlier this week, Gov. Jay Inslee banned gatherings of 50 people or more and encouraged smaller gatherings to cancel if they could not abide by social distancing standards. People over 60 years old were encouraged to shelter in place, but Washington has not implemented widespread shelter in place guidelines yet.As of Wednesday afternoon, there have been 66 coronavirus deaths among 1,187 confirmed cases in Washington state, according to the state Department of Health.RELATED: Coronavirus claims longtime UW pathologist Stephen Schwartz
